J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014; 13: 3–12

Journal ofInternational Cooperation for
Agricultural Development

Review

Enhancing Human Resource
Capacities in International Agricultural
Research: Lessons and Options for
Young Japanese Researchers1
Editha C. Cedicol
Graduate Scholarship Department, SEAMEO SEARCA, College, Laguna 4031, Philippines

Introduction
The world’s food supply depends so much on agriculture. Thus sustained agricultural production is synonymous
to food security. However, recent findings reveal that thesituation of agriculture supply worldwide has worsened
and if food production is not improved to meet demands,
the food shortages would affect not only the prices of agricultural goods and services, but also would have impacts
on the environment and more so on people living in abject
poverty. Many studies by different organizations (IFAD,
FAO, UN Task Force, and WFP) reveal the following key
facts (IFAD, 2012):• There are an estimated 925 million hungry people
in the world.
• Around 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25
a day.
• The world population is expected to reach 9.1 billion
by 2050.
• Food production will need to nearly double by 2050
in developing countries.
• About 40 per cent of the world’s arable land is degraded to some degree and will be further affectedby climate change.
• There are about half a billion small farms in theworld, supporting around 2 billion people.
• GDP growth generated by agriculture is up to fourtimes more effective in reducing poverty thangrowth generated by other sectors.
• Poor people spend between 50 and 80 per cent of
their income on food1

According to a research team of the University of
Minnesota, U.S.A. and McGill University, Montreal thedemand for food globally is expected to double by 2050
due to increasing population and living standards. The
team posits that with seriousness and dedication, solving
the world’s food supply problem and at the same timetaking care of the environment can be done. The team’s
research revealed initial findings that by combining
information from crop records and satellite images
gathered around the world, new models of agricultural
systems and environmental impacts can be created,which then showed patterns from which they based theirrecommendations on approaches on how to confront the
problem and help policy makers in making decisions(University of Minnesota, 2012).
To meet the increasing demand for food over time,
agriculture productivity needs to be substantially increased
through improved agricultural practices, development andpromotion of innovative technologies, and efficient andeffective scientific agricultural research. And of course,
this should not be done at the expense of the environment.
Researchers at McGill University came up with a planthat laid down recommendations on approaches that can
provide solutions to the problem confronting global foodsupply with less impact on the environment. The 5-point
plan is quoted hereunder from the Science Daily, October
2011:
1. Halting farmland expansion and land clearing for agricultural purposes, particularly in the tropical rainforest.

Paper presented at the International Symposium on Human Resource Development in Agricultural Science on the theme, “Toward Fostering
Japanese Researchers to Play an Active Part in International Agricultural Research, held at ESSAM Head Office, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japanon 9 November 2012.
J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014 3

2.

3.

4.

5.

This can be achieved using incentives such as payment
for ecosystem services, certification and ecotourism.
This change will yield huge environmental benefits
without dramatically cutting into agricultural production
or economic well-being.
Improving agricultural yields. Many farming regions in
Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe are not living
up to their potential for producing crops— something
known as “yield gaps.” Improved use of existing cropvarieties, better management and improved genetics
could increase current food production nearly by 60 per
cent.
Supplementing the land more strategically. Current use ofwater, nutrients and agricultural chemicals suffers fromwhat the research team calls “Goldilocks’ Problem”:
too much in some places, too little in others, rarely justright. Strategic reallocation could substantially boost thebenefit we get from precious inputs.
Shifting diets. Growing animal feed or biofuels on prime
croplands, no matter how efficiently, is a drain on humanfood supply. Dedicating croplands to direct human foodproduction could boost calories produced per personby nearly 50 per cent. Even shifting nonfood uses suchas animal feed or biofuel production away from prime
cropland could make a big difference.
Reducing waste. One-third of the food produced by farms
ends up discarded, spoiled or eaten by pests. Eliminating
waste in the path that food takes from farm to mouth
could boost food available for consumption another 50
per cent.

Given the aforementioned projections and the possible
solutions presented, can one just sit back, relax and adopt
a wait-and-see attitude? Can governments, especially indeveloping countries, just put off for tomorrow what theyshould start doing today, adopt a business-as-usual stance,
and wait if these will really happen in 2050? Or should thebest human resources involved in agriculture development
be mobilized to proactively address this bleak scenario?

II. Challenges in agricultural humanresource development
Application of technological advances in agriculture
development necessitates the development of qualified
human resources to conduct scientific researches toimprove agricultural production. The commercializationof agricultural systems, increasing trade liberalization,changes in the role of public and private sectors,
technological advancements, and a whole new worldof challenges have strongly affected the capacity
development needs of the agricultural workforce. These
require policy and institutional reforms and the need toreview agricultural education systems, and institution of
innovative approaches to strengthen the knowledge andenhance the skills of agriculture personnel.
Capacity building is an important key to improving thecapability of agricultural researchers, research managers
4 J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014

and extension workers in identifying priority researchand development issues, formulating research projects toaddress these issues, and disseminating research findings
for use by scientists, academicians, trainers, extension
workers, and policy makers. Capacity building takes theform of formal degree, short term training, participation in
study tours, conferences, seminar-workshops, on-the-job
training, field work, hands-on practice, academic mobility,and exchange programs. There are a number of training
institutes and organizations that provide these types ofcapacity building programs. However, universities andtraining institutions that are mandated to provide formal
and non-formal training must keep pace with the fastchanging global needs by equipping students and researchstaff with the up-to-date knowledge, skills and the rightattitudes to help them compete and be responsive to newchallenges.
Recent studies reveal the following top challenges toagricultural HRD:
• Aging agriculture research/scientific and academic
staffThis happens when there is no well-defined andinstitutionalized medium to long-term succession andreplacement plan under the human resource development
program of the university system.
• High staff turnoverFast staff turnover is normally due to low incentive
system, lack of opportunities for advancement or
promotion, low morale among the staff, absence of careerdevelopment program for the staff, and attractive offers
outside the organization.
• Wide age and qualifications gap in the succession
hierarchy
A well-designed and well-planned succession hierarchy
should spell out clearly the chain of command anddelegation of authority within the organization. It should
define the qualifications needed for a certain level of
responsibility and authority. The problem arises whenthe very senior supervisor (in age, qualifications andexperience) has a very junior staff next in line that cannot
make firm decisions or recommendations in behalf ofthe supervisor for lack of experience. This is an issue
that should be earlier addressed at the recruitment stage.
However, if there are no highly qualified applicants, someorganizations resort to hiring very young staff with a plan
to train the staff when already on board. Unfortunately for
some, the learning curve takes longer, and training takes awhile for the young staff.

• Low budget for research and training activities
This is often experienced by government-funded
institutions. This is an issue that needs to be addressed bygovernments that recognize the importance of researchand training activities as vital to the enhancement of skillsof those comprising the agricultural workforce.
• Outdated curricula not addressing agricultural
HRD needs of the times
This is an ongoing concern among agricultural higher
education institutions. The agriculture curriculum needs
to be reviewed and modified to address the needs of thejob market. Every curriculum must be designed with thestudents and learners in mind, that is, what kind of skills
should this curriculum teach, what learning outcomes, andwhat kind of students is the university expected to produce
for which sector. The curriculum must reflect the visionand mission of the university. In addition, agricultural
education must include dimensions of broad-based agroecological systems (R.J. Salvador, et al, 1994).
• Outmoded research and academic facilities
New or modified curricular programs attuned to thetimes must be matched with up-to-date research andacademic facilities in order to compete with or complement
those available in other universities offering the same
programs. Sufficient budget is needed to upgrade thelaboratory, experimental stations, IT facilities for teaching
and learning, etc.
• Agriculture as a profession not attractive tostudents
This has been a continuing problem everywhere. The
review of the agriculture curricula starting from thehigh school to the graduate school level to incorporate
practical projects in agriculture has been recommended
by some universities in selected countries in the African(FARA, 2011) and Asian (2010) regions. This is because
the proponents believe that cultivating appreciation for
agriculture as a profession and connecting it to food andnutrition should start at least with students at a young
age. In the Philippines, projects on school gardening andnutrition-sensitive agriculture are being introduced at theelementary and high school levels.
It is also worth looking at the reasons why agriculture has
lost its luster and what other courses related to agriculture
are now in demand. A study conducted in the Philippines on
the supply and demand for agriculture, forestry and natural
resources graduates projected the decline of traditional
agriculture courses (agricultural education, agriculture,
forestry) by 2020 but identified growth centers in the

nontraditional courses such as agribusiness/agribusiness
management, food technology, agricultural engineering,and veterinary medicine (Briones, 2010). August Temuof the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) who chaired
a panel session in a conference on development of
human resources in Africa in December 2011 said that“agriculture is not popular with young people, and most
students only come to agriculture when they fail to get into
other programs and that most agriculture graduates do not
get access to jobs. (FARA, 2011).
• Agriculture graduates are not well-equipped withknowledge, skills and attitudes to compete globally
Agriculture students must be able to develop skills tosolve problems in multiple-goal situations (Salvador,
1994). On the other hand, universities and faculties teaching agriculture must be aware of the current issues andproblems confronting agriculture development and whatknowledge, skills and attitudes are necessary in order toprepare the students to face these challenges. Programsfor continuous training and upgrading of student and staff
competencies must be institutionalized in the university.
There are a number of training service providers andagencies that offer short courses for skills enhancement.
Examples of these agencies in Japan are the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Society for
the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the Japan International
Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), andthe Ministry of Education and Training, which provide
training scholarships and grants for research fellowships.

III. Initiatives to address agricultural
HRD challenges: the SEARCA way
In most developing countries in Southeast Asia, skills
mismatch is an attendant problem in education service
delivery. Thus, to ensure that the right people are trained
for the right jobs, it is highly important for each country tocarefully identify the appropriate critical skills necessary
in mapping out development plans for agricultural andrural development (Cedicol, 2010).
How do we address these challenges at SEARCA?
SEARCA believes that the capacity of the human resourcebase to broadly articulate and respond to the changing
demands of the global economy largely influences thedevelopment directions of any country. Human resources
serve as catalysts in ensuring that development reforms
and initiatives are effectively implemented and managed.
SEARCA operates on the basis of a five-year strategicplan. Thus, for its Ninth Five-Year Plan, covering fiscal
years 2009/2010 to 2013/2014, a task force on external
analysis was created to find out the needs of SEARCA’s
J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014 5

Table 1. Estimated number of agricultural graduate scholarship needs of SEAMEO from FY 2009/2010 to FY
2013/2014
Country
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Lao PDR
Malaysia
MyanmarPhilippines
Singapore
Timor-Leste
Thailand
VietnamTotal

2009/2010
MS PhD
10
3
15
5
25
15
20
12
10
15
19
7
170
59
1
1
15
2
10
15
25
15
320 149

2010/2011
MS PhD
10
3
15
5
25
15
18
14
10
15
19
7
180
61
1
1
15
2
10
15
25
15
328 153

clients in the SEAMEO region and how SEARCA could
serve them to the utmost. A quick survey was then conducted in October-December 2008 on agricultural humanresource development needs for graduate study (Table 1).
The survey also included focal priority areas in research aswell as customized training for scholars as input to its 9th
5-year development plan. Respondents of the survey were
Ministries of Education, Agriculture and Forestry and
Rural Development, agricultural technical agencies, theUniversity Consortium, and agricultural colleges and universities in Southeast Asia countries, namely: Cambodia,
Lao PDR, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam.
Results of the external analysis pointed to the following
specific needs (grouped by subject matter):
1. Natural Resource Management○○ Strengthen NRM portfolio○○ Watershed management○○ Forest/agro-forest resource management○○ Marine/water resource management○○ Climate change and adaptation/mitigating
measures to address them○○ Land utilization and conversion to non-foodproduction○○ Management of green/open spaces
2. Agricultural Competitiveness○○ Impact of increases in commodity process on
agricultural transformation○○ Commercialization of agriculture○○ Improvement of livelihood○○ Value chain analyses○○ Market enhancement: value adding/foodprocessing
6 J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014

Fiscal year
2011/2012MS PhD
10
3
15
5
25
15
16
16
10
15
17
7
190
66
1
1
15
2
10
15
25
15
334 160

2012/2013
MS PhD
10
3
15
5
25
15
14
18
10
15
17
7
190
66
1
1
15
2
10
15
25
15
332 162

2013/2014
MS PhD
10
3
15
5
25
15
12
20
10
15
17
7
200
72
1
1
15
2
10
15
25
15
340
170

Total
MS
50
75
125
80
50
89
930
5
75
50
125
1654

PhD
15
25
75
80
75
35
324
5
10
75
75
794

3. Cross-cutting themes○○ Biofuel-net gain, impact on land use andagricultural produce○○ Rural-urban linkages; urban agriculture○○ Diversification of farming systems○○ Food security and safety○○ Real issues in agricultural science need toincrease crop production, reduce poverty
SEARCA’s vision is to be a leading enabler in thescience and practice of agriculture and rural development
for Southeast Asia. Its mission is to “build the capacities ofSoutheast Asian institutions working toward agriculturaland rural development through graduate scholarship,
research and development, and knowledge management.
For SEARCA to continuously and effectively do this in
the face of complex global challenges, it has to vigorously
look for ways to support young and highly qualified
nationals to acquire excellent graduate education that will
not only buffer the impact of a graying workforce and fillin the skills gap, but also take on the cudgels of leadershipas their more senior colleagues leave the workplace uponretirement.
Among the strategies to achieve the objectives of the
SEARCA Graduate Scholarship Program are: 1) provisionof more graduate scholarships and grants; 2) explorationand implementation of new scholarship program
modalities; 3) provision of opportunities to scholars forcustomized training; 4) dissemination of scholars’ research
outputs and achievements; and 5) matching of suitable
academic programs of scholars with the needs of member
countries. Based on a percentage of the identified needs
in Table 1 and within the limits of SEARCA’s resources,
169 scholarship slots have been allocated for nationals

Table 2. Distribution of new scholarship slots per country and proposed priority fields of specialization from 2009/2010 to
2013/2014
Country

No. of slots

Priority Fields of Specialization

Brunei Darussalam

4

Agronomy; Agribusiness; Agricultural Extension and ICT in Agriculture; Community
Development; Development Communication; Aquaculture; Halal food production andprocessing

Cambodia

7

Agronomy; Plant Breeding; Land and Water Resources Management; Agricultural Economics;
Climate Change and Risk Management; Biodiversity Conservation; Agro-forestry Management;
Agricultural Entrepreneurship; Veterinary Science; Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; Irrigation
Technology

Indonesia

14

Agribusiness; Agricultural Extension; Land and Water Resources Management; Environmental
Management; Biodiversity Conservation; Climate Change and Risk Management; Natural
Resources Management and ICT; Animal Nutrition; Agricultural Economics; Development
Communication; Public Administration and Governance; Food Science and Technology;
Farming Systems; Rural Development; Crop and Livestock Production; Forestry Resources
Management

Lao PDR

11

Animal health and nutrition; Agronomy; Agricultural Engineering; Land and Water Resources
Management; Irrigation Engineering; Agribusiness; Food Science and Technology; Food
Processing and Postharvest Technology; Farm Management; Farming Systems, Community
Development; Development Communication

Malaysia

9

Agricultural biotechnology; ICT in agriculture; biodiversity conservation; food science andtechnology; postharvest technology; production of high value crops; nanotechnology

Myanmar8

Agricultural policy development; rural development and governance; food safety standards;
agricultural economics; agronomy; soil science; biofuels development; agribusiness; supply
chain management; trade and investment; agricultural biotechnology

Philippines

86

Agronomy; food and nutrition; animal health; agricultural economics; development economics;
land and water resources engineering; environmental management; veterinary medicine; publicmanagement and governance; strategic leadership; climate change and risk management;
environmental economics; biotechnology and microbiology; animal breeding; agro-forestry;
agribusiness; agricultural entrepreneurship; food processing and marketing;Singapore

1

Nanotechnology; urban agriculture

Thailand9

Agricultural biotechnology; trade and investment; Environment and natural disaster management;
biodiversity conservation and management; agricultural economics; communication technology;

Timor Leste

6Agronomy; Animal Science; Veterinary Medicine; Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; Agricultural
Economics; Forestry and Natural Resources Conservation; Environmental Science; Land andWater Resources Management; Community Development; Development Communication and
ICT; Public Administration and Governance

Vietnam

14

Agricultural biotechnology; Food Processing; Postharvest Technology; Rural Development;
Research Management; Integrated Water Resource Management; Climate Change Risk
Management; agribusiness; agricultural economics; animal science; veterinary medicine

Total

169

of SEARCA member countries in different priority fields
as identified by the respective ministries of education(Table 2). The total number of scholarships over the fiveyear period may increase depending on availability ofpartnership funding from other collaborators of SEARCA
that are interested in helping these countries.

Other program modalities and schemes to enhance
student’s and staff’s skills
Table 3 presents the estimated number of SEARCA
scholarships for other program modalities to enhancea student or faculty’s skills such as sandwich program,
PhD research, academic bridging, and joint and double
degree program, and student/faculty exchange program.
Members of SEARCA’s University Consortium (UC)are tapped to host students and faculty who visit other

J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014 7

Table 3. Number of scholarships for new program modalities for FY2009/2010 to FY 2013/2014
Scholarships for new program modalities

FISCAL YEAR
2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014

Total

Sandwich PhD program

6

6

4

5

18

39

Academic Bridging Program

10

10

10

10

10

50

Double degree/Joint degree (MS)

2

2

2

2

-

8

PhD Research Scholarship Program

10

10

10

10

10

50

Student and Faculty Exchange Program

10

10

10

10

10

50

Total

38

38

36

37

48

197

universities under the UC student and faculty exchange
program. For students who attend courses in another
UC member for a semester or two, the tuition waiverand credit transfer arrangement are applicable. Bilateralarrangements may be explored with the UC members forthe sandwich program and joint/double degree program.
Established in 1989 through the auspices of SEARCA,
the UC is a network of leading agricultural universities
in Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany and Japan
whose aim is to enhance graduate education and researchin agriculture and natural resources in Southeast Asia.
Members of the UC are Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) andUniversitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Indonesia; Kasetsart
University (KU) in Thailand, Universiti Putra Malaysia(UPM) in Malaysia; University of the Philippines Los
Baños (UPLB); University of British Columbia (UBC)
in Canada, University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia;
University of Goettingen (UG) in Germany; and Tokyo
University of Agriculture (TUA) in Japan. Other partner
universities that may serve as host institutions of scholars
for short-term program modalities and where SEARCA
has signed memoranda of understanding include theUniversity of Hohenheim in Germany; Nagoya University
in Japan; National Taiwan University, Republic of China;
Montpellier SupAgro in France; Maejo University in
Thailand, and University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii.
Customized training
SEARCA also provides opportunities for customized
training to its scholars in order to: 1) enhance theirtechnical knowledge and skills while undergoing rigorous
academic and research tasks as graduate students; and 2) toprepare them for leadership and management roles when
they return to their respective institutions upon completionof graduate studies. Aside from the priority topics forcustomized training for SEARCA scholars identified in
the survey and presented in Table 4, the new scholars are
required to attend the following basic training courses:
1) Intensive English Course for International Graduate
8 J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014

Students; 2) Technical Writing Course; and 3) Training on
Research Methodologies.
To enhance the SEARCA scholars’ capacities to doresearch and extension work, the Center provides grants
for re-entry projects for new alumni in order for themto immediately apply what they learn from the university
upon their return to their respective home institutions.
The re-entry grant provides start-up money for small
research or extension projects with counterpart funds fromthe alumni’s home institution and local government orcommunity.
To provide opportunity to outstanding/excellent facultyof partner universities or advisers of SEARCA scholars,
the Visiting Fellows/Senior Fellows Program allows
the faculty members to carry out their researches while
enjoying their sabbaticals. On the same tone, SEARCA
also offers sabbatical leave for its technical and academic
staff within the supervisory/managerial level after 7 yearsof continuous service to the Center to spend 6 months
to one year in another institution (partner or otherwise)
for the purpose of 1) rest and renewal, which is a muchneeded break for intellectual and physical “re-charging; or2) to do research or write and produce a publication. In
both, SEARCA provides research funds, and salary for a
maximum of 6 months.
Learning Events and Executive Forum on various
topics such as Leadership Excellence in Academe Programfor Southeast Asia; Research Management for Executives,
Round Table Meetings on current issues in agriculture
development, and a range of other topics on food security
and safety, impacts of climate change on agriculture,climate change vulnerability assessment, etc. provide
avenues for discussion, exchange of ideas, and expressionof opinions that challenge the students and young faculty
to engage in intellectual discourse.

Table 4. Customized training needs in agriculture of SEAMEO member countries (2009–2014)· Agribusiness/enterprise development· Leadership and management in academe and R and D· Agricultural credit and microfinance· Managing risks for sustainable agriculture in response to
climate change· Agricultural knowledge management and ICTs for poverty
alleviation· Natural Resource Management· Agricultural Policy Formulation· Natural Resource Management· Agricultural Systems for Poor Communities· Options for clean development activities in agriculture· Agriculture Technology Management· Participatory methodology· Agroforestry management· Planning and project management· Avian influenza/ transboundary animal-borne diseases· Plant Biotechnology· Biodiversity conservation and rural livelihoods· Policies on commodity markets· Biofuel development and financing· Policy and regulatory issues, including capacity building
and biosafety implementation· Bioinformatics· Community-based natural resources management· Cross-border trade arrangements· Disaster Risk Management· Dynamics of land use change· Economic and legal aspects of GE applications/GMOs· Environment & climate change· Environment Biotechnology· Food safety and phyto-sanitary measures· Good Agriculture Practices· Good Governance· Impact assessment and poverty alleviation· Knowledge Management· Knowledge systems and biodiversity management

Institutional development assistance to selected
universities in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar
Recently, SEARCA initiated an institutional development
assistance program focused on capacity-building andcurriculum enhancement in three universities in Lao PDR(Savannakhet University), Cambodia (Royal Universityof Agriculture), and Myanmar (Yezin Agricultural
University). After the initial phases of the project
starting with the reconnaissance visits to each of the three
universities, SEARCA mapped out the plan for assistancewithin the limits of SEARCA’s resources but helping out
in tapping other sources of funds to implement a three tofive - year project in each of the university. The dearth ofagricultural human resources to teach and do research isstrongly felt in Savannakhet University (SKU), which isa very new university established only in 2009. SEARCA
initially responded to this by providing scholarships foracademic bridging and master’s program to five young
faculty of SKU. The need to field experts to SKU in theareas of irrigation engineering, agronomy, plant breeding,soil science, veterinary science, environmental science,· Program Management· Public-private sector partnership in technology management· Research management· Resource Generation· Re-thinking agricultural extension· Small farmers and their integration in the supply chain· Socio-cultural, ethical, and political issues in GE
applications/GMOs· Strategic Leadership· Strengthening rural institutions· Transition Management· Use of ICT in agricultural development· Various application areas for genetic engineering

curriculum development, and university management isalso urgent.
In Royal University of Agriculture (RUA), the issues
to be addressed urgently are the aging faculty, fast staff
turnover, and lack of agricultural manpower for teaching,research and extension. In response to the requestof RUA, SEARCA recently conducted a mentoringworkshop for RUA strategic planning attended by RUA
top executives in charge of university management,
curriculum development, research and development,
financial administration, and linkages and international
program. This mentoring workshop was intended to
guide them through the process of visioning, direction
and goal setting, as well as in assessing their strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities available and threats to their
existence. The top executives are expected to do their own
strategic planning exercise together with key personnel atthe university after completing the mentoring workshop.
SEARCA also provided graduate scholarships to three
young faculty members of RUA.
In Yezin Agricultural University, the immediate concern
J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014 9

to be addressed is the review of the agriculture curriculum
as well as the need for training on delivery of extension
services to farmers and development of programs forresponding to the 9-point agenda for reform of the Ministryof Agriculture, namely: Reform for Land Management
and Administration; Reform for Advanced Agricultural
Practices and Seed Industry; Reform for Water Resource
Management; Reform for Agricultural Mechanization;
Reform for Advanced Agro-based Industry; Reform for
Human Resource Development; Reform for Research andTechnology Development; Reform for Credit Services;and Reform for Market Information Service.

IV. Developing the next generation ofJapanese agricultural scientists
and researchers: How?
There is no perfect recipe for this. However, there arelessons that can be gleaned from the experiences of otherhuman resource development organizations like SEARCA,
as discussed in the previous Section, on strategies andmodalities to enhance the capacities of agriculture personnel
to increase their chances of getting employed and involved
in international agricultural research. SEARCA’s ongoingprojects on institutional development assistance to otheruniversities could serve as windows of opportunities foryoung Japanese researchers to practice their profession by
being attached to these institutions with funding from theJapanese government. As well, there are options for young
Japanese agricultural scientists and researchers in crafting
their career paths towards contributing to finding solutions
to the world’s food supply problems starting with the East
Asian region.
There are two issues in this Section. One is theobservation that there are very limited agricultural
human resources in Japan that could play active roles in
the international agricultural research. The other is theemployability of Japanese agriculture graduates.
The first issue should be directed to higher education
institutions, policy makers and organizations concernedwith developing manpower for the agriculture workforce.
The following may be taken into consideration with theaim of increasing enrolment in agriculture and producing
more agriculture graduates:
1. Improvement of the agriculture curriculum at the college and graduate school levels to include problembased experiential teaching and learning to help
develop the problem-solving and critical thinking
skills of agriculture students. The curriculum mustteach appropriate methods of inquiry, and systems
analysis. More coursework must be introduced toprovide the theoretical foundation to support research
10 J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014

applications. New areas of major specialization at
the graduate level must be introduced to cater to current needs and problems.
A recent SEARCA study (Arboleda, 2012) on Enhancement and Strengthening of Graduate Agriculture Education Curricula in Southeast Asia revealed that...
“ASEAN universities typically offer the traditional
major specializations (for example: animal science,agronomy, entomology and plant pathology, soil science,
and agricultural economics) at the MS and PhD levels.
However, they differ largely in the range of new areasof major specialization offered by their graduate school.
Some universities tend to offer major specialization at
the disciplinal level such as agricultural biotechnology,
plant breeding and genetics, animal reproductive physiology, and so on. Others, however, tend to offer major
specialization at the commodity level like, plantation
management, poultry production, swine production,water management and so on. At the PhD level emphasis
tend to be at the disciplinal more than the commodity
orientation. Consequently, there are significantly wider
varieties of major specializations offered at the MS thanat the PhD level. This is understandable since at the PhD
level, students are expected to focus more on deeper understanding of as well as finding new knowledge about
the discipline through scientific research.

2. New schemes or other modalities of learning such as
North-South and South-South mobility for students
and faculty, practicum or hands-on experiences
through on-the-job training activities, field visits/
study tours, sandwich programs, exchange programswith transferrable credits must be designed and embedded into the curriculum. Through these modalities, students are expected to open up, adjust socially,
speak up, learn other people’s cultures, understandother people’s perspectives, and start thinking out of
the box.
3. Have a manpower plan. Coordinate with industry,
non-government organizations, private companies,
international research agencies that are potential
employers of agriculture graduates; find out their
manpower needs, and set target numbers to match
graduates with the job market needs. This would
then set the enrolment and graduation targets for eachschool year.
4. Provide opportunities for training in leadership,agribusiness management, entrepreneurship, project
development and management, resource generation,
ICT, computer skills, data banking, language training,technical writing, as add-on to the academic programof the students.
5. Provide sabbaticals to faculty and research staff/
scientists for a period of six months to one year toallow them to upgrade their knowledge and skills,

expand their horizon, establish contacts and explore
opportunities for joint projects with other universities
or institutions. Whatever new knowledge and skills
that these faculty and research staff will gain fromdoing sabbaticals outside the country will redound tothe benefit of the students and the university in Japan.
6. Monitor and track down the alumni. They can bepartners in training and development of would-be
scientists and researchers. They can be an addition
to the pool of short-term staff that can be tapped asconsultants, experts, mentors, and student advisers.
7. Provide support for career counseling and the conductof job fairs. Graduating students must be taught how
to write their resumes, construct application letters,present themselves properly during interviews, andanswer interview questions. An office at the university devoted to scouting for job opportunities must be
set up to coordinate with domestic and international
companies in providing work for agriculture alumni
and young researchers.
For all of the above strategies, sufficient budget andpolicy support are essential.
The second issue is both a concern of the higher education
institutions and the student. The student must first ascertain
his/her career choice by answering the question: WHAT
DO I WANT TO BE? For this, the student has several
career options: to be a researcher, scientist, academician,entrepreneur, manager, administrator, farmer, agriculturist,
economist, extension worker, etc. Whatever it is, thestudent must aim to be a well-rounded person, who knows
how to perform multiple tasks, and a person who values
man and nature. The student’s career choice would thenbe his/her basis for seriously considering the road totake towards achieving his goal—academic program,specialization, training and other learning tools, what typeof skills to develop, and plans for international exposure.
A survey conducted by a team of experts among potential
employers of agriculture graduates in the Philippines (deVera, et al, 2010) reveal the preferences of employers
to candidates that have the following skills: excellent
written and verbal communication; organizational
development; critical thinking; advanced computer skills;
customer relations and people skills; teamwork; English
proficiency; leadership skills; business orientation; project
development management; negotiation skills; proficiency
in another foreign language; monitoring and evaluation;coaching/mentoring; planning and organizing; goal setting
and resource allocation; ability to translate theory into
practice; data analysis; mathematical/statistical skills;
proposal writing and technical report writing.

On the other hand, the recent SEARCA study led by
Arboleda, et al (2012) revealed the following findings
from respondent- employers in the ASEAN region:“When hiring applicants, the employers consider thefollowing qualifications as most important: academic
performance records (96%), record of accomplishments(72%), graduated from highly prestigious institution(72%), and overall personal character (60%). For theemployers, the most desirable sets of abilities thatthe graduate degree holders in their staff to have are:technical knowledge (82%), leadership skills (60%)
and communication skills (47%). When asked which
combination of abilities and skills that were characteristic of their employees possessed, the overwhelming
majority of them indicated that those with high field
specific knowledge and skills as well as those that agood balance of field specific skills and the skills common to related disciplines – communication, leadership,computer literacy – contributed most to the attainment of
their organizational goals and objectives. And more thanjust academic records, the other abilities that the respondents indicated as most preferred include: ability to takeleadership roles in opportunities that are related to his/her field (80%), ability to work professionally with others (76%) and ability to bring bright ideas on appropriate
situations (76%).”In the study, Arboleda emphasized that in the practice ofany profession in agriculture and related disciplines, it isimperative that skills that could sharpen the awareness andability of students to common challenges and opportunities
in their career be acquired, such as communication,
management and entrepreneurship and accounting skills(e.g., applied statistics and scientific method, principles
of management, leadership, ethics and entrepreneurship,
international agriculture and trade and policy, among
others).

V. The Way Forward
Universities, government agencies, private companies
concerned with agriculture, and even the parents must
work together to craft the future of agriculture students,
graduates, and young Japanese researchers if they are
expected to play a significant role in fighting global
hunger. A scenario-building exercise on world food andagriculture may spark the interest of Japanese students andyoung researchers on their “rightful place” in the interplayof actors in this interesting planet.
References
Arboleda, Cecilio, and Blanda M. Sumayao. Enhancement
and Strengthening Agriculture Graduate Education
Curricula in Southeast Asia. Initial results of study

J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014 11

funded by SEARCA (with participation by Rita P.
Laude and Editha C. Cedicol), October 2012.
Briones, Roehlano M. Projecting the supply of and demand for AFNR graduates in the Philippines: model,
descriptions, projections and simulations. Philippine
Institute of Development Studies, Manila, November
2010.
Capacity development in Africa, www.oecd.org/dataoecd/
17/20/48165511.pdf, accessed 10/13/2012.
Cedicol, Editha C. SEARCA Agricultural Human Resource Development Plan for SEAMEO: Focus on
Graduate Scholarship Program (FY 2009/2010 to FY
2013/2014), SEARCA, College, Laguna, September
2010.
De Vera, Prospero III, Rizalino B. Cruz, and Ledivina
V. Cariño. Policy Research on the State and Future
Supply of and Demand for AFNR Graduates in thePhilippines (Human Resource Inventory and Environmental Scanning), Philippine Institute of Development
Studies, Manila, November 2010.
hrd.sagepub.com/content/7/4/374.full.pdf, accessed
10/13/2012

12 J Intl Cooper Agric Dev 2014

McGill University (2011, October 12). Feeding theworld while protecting the planet: Global plan forsustainable agriculture. Science Daily. Retrieved
October 17, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2011/10/111012151720.htm
http://www.ifad.org/hfs/index.htm, accessed 17 Oct 2012
Salvador, R.J, D.W. Countryman, and B.E. Miller. Incorporating Problem-based Experiential Teaching in
the Agriculture Curriculum. J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci.
Educ. 24 (1): 58–63. Iowa State University College ofAgriculture, 1994.
Science Daily. Retrieved October 17, 2012, from http://www.
sciencedaily.com­/releases/2011/10/111012151720.htm
Temu, August. Conference on Agricultural R&D in Africa.
Ghana, Africa, 5–7 December 2011 in Agricultural
Science and Technology Indicators, facilitated by IFPRI
University of Minnesota (2012, August 29). Hope ofgreater global food output, less environmental
impact of agriculture. Science Daily. Retrieved
October 17, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/
releases/2012/08/120829151241.htm